Like most PR professionals, my hands or shall I say my fingers are literally full with Facebook, Twitter, Google +, LinkedIn and WordPress. But with the entire world sharing everything on these sites – including your customers – there is no doubt that social media should play a critical role in any integrated communications plan. The problem, says Entrepreneur Media Inc. , is that every week a new type of social media site pops up.

“And as the number of social networking sites grows, so does the number of services created to measure, track and monitor those services,” said Entrepreneur Media Inc.

The latest platform to go viral is Pinterest. According to the site, Pinterest is a virtual Pinboard. In other words, users can organize and share anything that they find on the web such as wedding planning tips, home decorating ideas and cooking techniques. And there are some major brands taking advantage of this whole ‘communion like’ atmosphere. As a result, Pinterest is now driving more traffic than Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace combined.

For the savvy PR professional interested in delving into the minds and most importantly the personal habits of their customers, Pinterest can be a huge benefit to your branding efforts. Charlie Elliott, content and creative strategist at Greenlight, and co-author of the guide, told MediaPost Communications that the content found in Pinterest is typically the sort of insight and intelligence a brand needs, but would need to go to great lengths to attain before tailoring its product offering to the tastes of its target audiences.

“Categories in the platform include Pinners you follow, Everything, Videos, Popular, and Gifts,” MediaPost Communications. “These categories will eventually provide fodder for ad targeting. Today, it’s a way to categorize pinnings, adding a pin from a URL or computer, or adding a new board, along with a user panel Settings, and Boards & Pins.”

Along the left rail, users can see how others have interacted with your pins, individual images that people post, and boards — themed areas where users collate a selection of similar Pins, followed by the most recent pins from people you follow, MediaPost Communications added.

In addition to all of the bells and whistles that Pinterest offers, the new platform also provides another wonderful opportunity for companies to listen to its customers.

Last year when Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings suddenly announced that the company was spinning off its DVD rental business entirely under the name Qwikster, it quickly resembled a scene in ‘Dead Man Walking‘ as over 11,000 home-movie buffs blasted the decision on the companies’ blog.

The ill-fated announcement came approximately 60 days after Netflix announced that it would change its pricing structure from $7.99 a month for streaming alone and $7.99 a month for 1-DVD-at-a-time rather than offering a bundled price, a 60 percent increase.

“While there are some interesting elements to Netflix’s latest plan, the company botched any chance of making its customers sympathetic to Qwikster by failing to communicate why the offshoot business was necessary in the first place,” said VentureBeat. “That gaff, coupled with the announcement’s close proximity to Netflix’s recent pricing change, was a recipe for disaster.”

In 90 days, Netflix lost more than 800,000 subscribers. But despite Netflix’s public path to destruction, many companies are still failing to pay attention to its customers. According to October 2011 study conducted by Conversocial, retailers Costco (COST), Kmart and Kroger (KR) missed 100 percent of their consumers’ complaints on social networking sites during September 2011, and Wal-Mart (WMT) ignored 40 percent. Out of the 10 major retailers examined over a five-day period in September, Safeway (SWY) provided superior customer service by responding to 95 percent of complaints on their Facebook page.

“I’ve found that many companies have a tendency to focus so much on selling their product or service that they forget to listen to what their customers are telling them,” said Bloomberg BusinessWeek. “The goal for any business is to make money, but that goal is more easily attained when you listen to your customers and know and understand what their needs are.”

But according to the folks at PRNews, consumer feedback is still “falling on deaf ears.” On their website, they posted a Customer Contact Association study that found 89 percent of consumers are likely to tell organizations when they receive poor customer service, yet almost 44 percent do not believe companies read their feedback. A third of CCA member organizations polled indicated that they overlooked social media feedback completely; and that they reviewed less than 2 percent of customer interactions across Web-based channels.

The Customer Contact Association also found that customers (44 percent) preferred to provide feedback via mail or e-mail. But companies (65 percent) only paid attention to less than a quarter of customer’s e-mails. Two-thirds of customers used social media to post bad experiences, while 61 percent used social to post positive ones.

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Time and time again, we have witnessed the rise and fall of companies because of poor customer service. The fact of the matter is that we live in a world of instant communication. Customers have come to expect quick responses to their questions and they want to be able to quickly and easily interact with a human being who can provide solutions.

“Bottom line: These days more than ever, big or small, your company needs to stay connected with its customers,” says CBS Money Watch. “That means answering the phone for customer inquiries, service, and support. And we’re talking a human being or at least a super-artificially intelligent computer, not a dumb, drive-you-nuts automated phone system.”

There’s no doubt that the key to sustained long-term growth and customer loyalty is superior customer service. Especially in a down economy, we have seen companies that chose to sit on their hands and hide under a rock and later find themselves wondering where all of their customers went. So what are the most effective and efficient ways to stay connected to your customers?

According to CommPRO.biz, smartphones and tablets have conquered the business world and 285 million people are expected to use smartphones in work settings this year; 93 percent of the Fortune 500 are using iPads, or seriously considering adopting them.

“Companies are issuing phones and tablets – or taking advantage of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) movement – and opening their own apps stores where users can download applications that make them more productive,” says CommPRO.biz.

The most widely used apps by competitive businesses are the Google Apps & Google Apps Mobile. With these applications, you can do everything from keeping a calendar of events to document storage and even creating e-mail servers. Since these apps are web-base, you can access information from anywhere in the world, using any computer or mobile device.

On the website, Google says that it’s web-based messaging and collaboration apps require no hardware or software and need minimal administration, creating tremendous time and cost savings for businesses.

“We’ve listened to many businesses share what’s important to them in building and growing a healthy business,” says Google. “What we’ve found is that businesses are looking for a low-cost, reliable, and secure messaging and collaboration solution that supports their business rather than challenges it. If your business finds itself identifying with some of these challenges, then you might be interested in considering the Google Apps solution for your business.”

According to Google, there are 40 million active users and four million businesses that use Google Apps. Click here to see what companies are using Google Apps.

What are you doing to make sure that your customers are having a great experience? One of the most innovative technologies that are available to companies are QR codes. According to MarketingProfs LLC, QR codes can help enrich your brand’s customer interaction by adding a dynamic element to static forms of media.

Developed in Japan, QR is short for Quick Response. QR codes can quickly take a piece of information and add it to your cell phone. Once it is in your cell phone, it gives you details about upcoming ticket sales, promotional contests, or a coupon which you can use in a local retail store. Cell phones with QR code applications take about one minute to find and install the reader.

QR codes are not only inexpensive to implement; they also go a long way toward implementing a very robust and strategic integrated communications plan. They can be added to any print advertising, flyers, posters and invites containing:

On Friday, I was waiting in line at a clothing store. In front of me, there were two teenagers, neither one of them appeared to be more than 16. Like a parent or shall I say a responsible adult, I was ease dropping on their conversation when I heard:

“F*** those n*****,” said the girl with her hair neatly brushed back in a ponytail.

“I know. Those n***** are so f***in’ stupid,” said the other girl with a pink headband holding her hair back.

“Hey, why in the world would such pretty girls use that type of language,” I asked.

I was surprised when they apologized; because a few months earlier I had a similar situation that didn’t go well.

I was riding the metro when two girls — maybe 13 — jumped on the train at the L’Enfant Plaza stop. They caught my attention because they were giggling and pushing each other back and forth while the train was moving. They were both wearing gym shorts and white T-shirts. But one of them had her shirt tied up in a knot and her breast was showing. So I quickly stood up and whispered in her ear, “sweetheart, your bobbies are showing.”

“So what b****,” she said.

“Well, there are men on this train,” I said.

“So, you ain’t my motherf***in’ mother,” she said.

“I am not; but you still need to fix your shirt. What if one of these men tries to touch you,” I asked.

Regardless of the response, I was and am proud to be an engaged presence in the lives of our youth. I will not be silent while they use profanity in public. I will not turn my head when I see young girls dressed inappropriately. I will not run away when I see acts of violence. Although I am not a biological parent, I am a responsible adult.

“Too many parents, busy with business, career, social life … have delegated their responsibility and abandoned their relationship with their kids, leaving them to their teachers, coaches … and others — often virtual strangers who are in no way committed to their safety and well-being,” said BE’s Earl Graves.

“And too many who are not parents dismiss our kids as none of their concern. But we are learning the hard way as a society that when our children are treated as somebody else’s problem, they too often end up on a path of suffering, victimization and poor choices — ultimately becoming everyone’s problem,” he added.

HATE CRIMES

In Philadelphia, teenagers have been committing random acts of violence. According to FOX Philly News, a 15-year-old and two 17-year-olds were charged Jan. 30 with beating a cab driver in Center City Philadelphia.

“They began calling a male passenger in the cab racially derogatory names,” police told FOX Philly News. “Then, they allegedly threw a liquid at the cab, opened the passenger door, pulled him out and started pummeling him.”

The attack, according to FOX Philly News, came two days after Mayor Michael Nutter held a news conference to announce rewards to help stem the tide of violence in the city, and to talk about being strong and tough parents.

In Chicago, three white teens tried to lynch a black teen. According to the Chicago Tribune, the teens allegedly put a noose around the neck of 17-year-old Joshua Merritt, and hurled racial epithets at him before one of the boys held a knife to his throat and threatened to kill him on Christmas Eve.

“The teens were apparently upset about Merritt’s relationship with one of the boys’ female cousins,” police told the Chicago Tribune.

In Peoria, Ariz., the secret service launched an investigation involving a group of teens. According to the New York Times, a photograph was posted on the Internet that showed a group of young Arizona boys posing in the desert with guns while holding up what appeared to be a bullet-riddled image of President Obama’s face.

MURDER

In Charlotte, N.C., two teens conspired to commit murder from behind bars. According to WCNC-TV, police are investigating 16-year-old Brittany Carter and 17-year-old Zahra Reid who were arrested for the robbery of a Pizza Hut delivery driver in October. Court documents suggest that the teens planned to have the driver murdered in order to stop their upcoming trial.

In Oakland, Calif., a teen killed his adoptive parents. According to KTUV, as friends and coworkers mourned a couple killed in an Oakland double homicide, their 15-year-old adopted son was behind bars facing murder charges.

In Pueblo, Colo., a teen was sentenced to 40 years for murder. According to the Republic, the teen was 16 when he broke into the home of a 50-year-old man, then fired shots when the homeowner startled him.

ROBBERY

In Nassau County, N.Y., two teens were arrested for four burglaries between September and December 2011. According to Patch.com, two teens, ages 15 and 16, were both charged with four counts of second degree burglary.

In Wisconsin, two boys, ages 15 and 16, were arrested for battery and retail theft. According to the Capital Times, the two teens went on a crime spree stealing coats from a local retail store and then robbing an 18-year-old man on a transit bus.

VANDALISM

In Detroit, it only took 35 minutes for two teens to yank wires from batteries, pull fuses and let the air out of school bus tires. According to the Detroit Free Press, the vandalism — in which 18 of 58 buses were damaged — forced the District to cancel classes Monday, Jan. 30.

“If they didn’t know before, they seemed to figure it out pretty quickly once they got in,” police told the Detroit Free Press.

Get Involved

As a child, I remember the elderly woman who lived three doors down from our house, Mrs. Hudson. I can still hear her yelling from her bedroom window, “Get off my grass.” We called her “nosy old eagle-eye hudson” because she sat in that window carefully watching our every move and like a momma bird, correcting us for every wrong that we committed.

“You may say that kids no longer want to listen to adults. I say that many of them feel that way because adults stop listening and paying attention to them,” said BE’s Earl Graves.

“Show me a generation of lost children, and I’ll show you a generation of adults responsible for losing them,” he added.